| A Season In Review Authored by Andrew Theodosi - June 26, 2006 - 1:29 am
The Mavericks went through it all this past season – suspensions, a starter retiring, triumph, negativity, the list goes on and on. Replace the whole “basketball” and you have the window for a classic soap-opera on daytime television. In the end, the Mavericks failed to achieve their goal of winning a championship and after all the trials and tribulations, the season can be looked upon as a failure.
As many fans remember, last offseason was surprisingly quiet in Dallas headquarters – much different from the usual blowing up every year and trying to find the right mix of star players. Guard Michael Finley, a beloved member of the dismantled “big three” was waived under the one-time Amnesty Rule (he went on to join the Spurs and proved to be a lethal weapon during the playoffs). The Mavericks also brought in veteran Doug Christie in the hopes he could help the team with tenacious defense. Not to be missed is possibly the biggest surprise for Dallas this year – DeSagana Diop. Acquired for a small amount after Cleveland lost hope, Diop came into training camp trim and ready to dominate.
Starting off the season in no better way, the Mavericks defeated their eliminators in the 2005 playoffs – the Phoenix Suns. Nowitzki began his quest for MVP with an amazing performance of 28 points and 15 rebounds. Two games later, the Mavericks put the NBA Champions (Spurs) to work with a 19 point victory. The Mavs were showing they were for real and offered a harsh warning to the league with a 37 point smashing of the Detroit Pistons who were undefeated before then.
Due to a nagging ankle injury, the Mavericks waived free agent acquisition, Doug Christie, after a measly 7 games. Three days later, on November 28th, the Mavericks chose the perfect replacement – Adrian Griffin. Griffin provided depth for Dallas’ supposedly already-strong shooting guard depth, but with Stackhouse injured – Griff was needed to perform immediately.
In what could be the greatest move by rookie coach Avery Johnson, DeSagana Diop was thrust into the starting lineup due to lackadaisical play from Erick Dampier. The move prompted a 19-1 run by the Mavs, who, for a lack of better terms, owned their opponents. During that stretch, Dallas won by an average of 13.1 points per game, out-rebounded their opponent by four per game, and generally tore up teams. For example, a 33-point victory against New Jersey, 20-point victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, 36-point victory against Miami, and numerous 15+ point victories.
Avery Johnson was rewarded with the position of Head Coach for the Western All-Stars, where Dirk Nowitzki was selected once again. Devin Harris was honored in the Got Milk? Rising Stars Challenge and Jason Terry/Dirk Nowitzki participated in the Three Point Competition (Nowitzki went on to win the whole event).
Then, the Mavericks hit a snag. The injuries set in, and Dallas subsequently went 9-8 during March. Players like Josh Howard (4 games), Keith Van Horn (6), Adrian Griffin (6) and Devin Harris (3) missed a large portion of that month. Dallas had their longest losing streak of the season, 3 games (who knew it would eventually be broken at such a bad time).
Avery Johnson was rewarded with NBA Coach of the Year honors after the best-ever 82 game start in franchise history.
The Mavericks entered the playoffs as the #4 seed after a tedious dog-fight throughout the season against rival Southwest team, the Spurs. Dallas made quick meat of Memphis demolishing them in 4 games with no real threat. Due to the way the playoffs are set up, the Mavs got ready to go toe-to-toe with the reigning NBA Champs. They lost the first game of the series due to a mental block from Jerry Stackhouse, but rebounded well with a 22-point victory in game two (thanks to 27 points from Josh Howard). Devin Harris’ insertion into the starting line up proved to be invaluable as he matched Tony Parker’s production and helped lead the Mavs to a 3-1 series lead. A missed tip-shot from Nowitzki put the Spurs back into contention as the series narrowed to 3-2. Duncan and Nowitzki then battled it out and a decisive game 7 was in place for both to rise to the challenge. In the epic battle, Duncan scored 41 points but Nowitzki had the last laugh with a 3-point play to tie the game and then a series-saving block – the match was going into overtime. Finally, after an arduous battle, the Mavs defeated their demon.
They now moved onto the Western Conference Finals to take on the high-flying Phoenix Suns (and former Mav, Steve Nash). The Mavericks lost a close game 1 on the back of 30 points from guard Devin Harris, but valiantly improved in the following 2 games. Nowitzki was up and down during this series. At one point, his rebounding was matching Shawn Marion, but he then had his worst game of the playoffs (11 points / 7 rebounds) which led to a 20-point embarrassment. Of course, he then exploded with a 50 point / 12 rebound performance, which significantly swung the series in Dallas’ favor. They won the decisive Game 6 in Phoenix, and we were off to the NBA Finals to battle with the Miami Heat.
Both teams looked to capitalize on the opportunity and win their first NBA Championship. The stage was set; Dallas was up 2-0 after Dampier’s incredible defense on Shaquille O’Neal, Jason Terry’s heroics, and all-around great team defense. Though, Dallas got cocky. They were happy to play laid-back ball. I’m sure many of them were thinking, “So what if Miami won a game? We’d finish them out at home.”
The Dallas Mavericks lost a season of hard work in 6 minutes. In 6 minutes, they let Miami come back from 13 down and win Game 3 – the turning point for the entire series. Game 4 was worse; Dallas was completely dominated in every aspect of every play with a 24-point loss. Still, Shaquille O’Neal had not scored above 20 points. Dwyane Wade was the one doing all the damage. He had two 42+ point efforts, another 36-point outing and he wasn’t even riding Shaq’s coattails, the Diesel was coming along for the D-Wade ride. In Game 5, the streak was broken. Howard scored 21 points, but Dallas lost. The 25-0 record was shattered and so was Dallas’ confidence. That’s alright, Dallas was still 15-0 when he had a double-double. But Howard called a timeout in between Wade’s two freethrows in Game 5 denying the Mavs the right to take the ball up court and that ended the double-double streak. The Mavericks lost game 6, and the series, by 3 points. Jason Terry missed 18 of his last 21 shots and Nowitzki provided too little too late.
The Dallas Mavericks lost the NBA Championship.
These were Avery Johnson’s words after the defeat, “I am just so proud of our team. Just before somebody asks, I'll just tell you that I just told them how much I love them, through thick and thin. I loved them during the 13 game winning streak, the three game losing streak in the regular season, this four game losing streak. I told them that I loved them, I think that we've made a lot of progress this year.”
But watch out for Dallas Mavericks basketball next season, look for them to come back with a vengeance after getting so close to the title. |
